KU football opener to kick off at 6 p.m. on Jayhawk Network

Kansas fans Dan Lewis, Lenexa, and Ann Kindle, Overland Park, toss bean bags while tailgating in the parking lot prior to kickoff against South Dakota State on Saturday, September 1, 2012 at Memorial Stadium. Lewis says he'd been at the stadium tailgating since 5:30 a.m.

The Kansas University football team will kick off the 2013 season under the lights, the Big 12 Conference announced Tuesday.

KU’s Sept. 7 season opener against South Dakota is slated for a 6 p.m. kickoff at Memorial Stadium.

The start time is pretty common for KU’s season openers. The Jayhawks have launched the season with a 6 p.m. kickoff every year since 2004.

Based on head coach Charlie Weis’ past statements, the start time is pretty much perfect for a day that figures to come with a certain amount of fanfare and celebration. After playing most of last season’s games in the late morning and early afternoon hours, the Jayhawks received a 6 p.m. kickoff for last year’s Iowa State game and during the week leading up to the game Weis explained why he loved the later start.

“Six o’clock’s too early to go out,” Weis said last November, making his case for why the KU students should pack Memorial Stadium. “Nine o’clock, get over about 9:30. You know, it’s just about right. We have over 30,000 people at this school, and I think it would be really good if a whole bunch of ’em came and spent the evening with us.”

The Jayhawks and Coyotes will be meeting for the first time. The game will be televised on the Jayhawk IMG TV Network. A week later, KU will kick off at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 14 when it plays at Rice in Week 2.

Of that group, Bloomfield, Faifili, Hollomon and Jenkins-Moore are the most likely to report next, and Weis has said repeatedly that he expects everyone to report and that the newcomers will sprinkle in throughout the summer.